ownedgirlie
Posts: 9184
Joined: 2/5/2006 Status: offline
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First, I loved what Stephan said on this topic and agree. Second, I grew up in a "guns are bad" household, also. I feared them, hated them, didn't want anything to do with them. Absolute values against them based on how I was raised. Then, at 18, I moved into a home as a roommate to the husband/wife homeowners. After I had been there a month or so, they said "We think it's time we tell you, we keep a loaded gun in the house." I told them thanks, but I had no interest in it, didn't want to see it, didn't want to know where it is, etc. Then curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to see it. They unloaded it and let me see it, touch it, hold it. I was afraid of it. I hated it. Then I thought, if there's a loaded gun in the house, I should know where it is, so I asked and they told me. Well then I thought, if there's a loaded gun in the house and I know where it is, I should know how to use it, so I don't panic some day and make a terrible mistake. So I signed up at the local community college for Firearms 1-A, which was taught by the city's peace officers. We learned how to handle a gun, how to load it, unload it, about the safety, how to disassemble and assemble, and finally, how to shoot. And here's the thing, after becoming knowledgable on the subject and actually experiencing the process, there was nothing to fear. Guns are not bad, but bad people use them. Becoming educated and learning not only how to shoot but proper philosophies behind shooting changed my whole belief system about guns. I no longer embraced what I had been indoctrinated with, but I formulated my own thoughts and opinions about it. Truth is, I came to love shooting and ended up taking Level 4 advanced firearms training. My lesson? An open mind and educating myself lead to my own informed set of values. Regarding being required to do something against personal values, yes I have been required to do that on a few occasions, for reasons that were important enough to him to require that of me. It is my philosophy that his will always supersedes mine. I am allowed to present my concerns about something, but his decision is his decision, and his values take priority over my own. In some cases, my concerns provided him with enough information that he changed his mind. In those other cases, he has sometimes helped me overcome my struggle with his requirement, while other times left it up to me to grown and overcome it.
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